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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27442225">writings on the inside of your wrist</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearingsattler/pseuds/dearingsattler'>dearingsattler</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Witch (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Light Angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:21:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,180</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27442225</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearingsattler/pseuds/dearingsattler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where everyone is born with words on their wrists, Abigail Pershing believes the idea of soulmates is pointless while Stephanie Borden daydreams of hers</p>
<p>Or: an Abigail/Stephanie soulmate AU</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Abigail Pershing/Stephanie Borden, Betty Borden &amp; Stephanie Borden, Cassie Nightingale &amp; Abigail Pershing, Cassie Nightingale/Sam Radford (background), mentioned Cassie Nightingale/Jake Russell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>writings on the inside of your wrist</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Told you my next fic would 100% be A/S lol</p>
<p>I've never written a soulmate au before and I didn't realize writing them could be this fun??</p>
<p>idk, I don't have much to say here, on with the fic!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Abigail Pershing thought the whole concept of soulmates was completely ridiculous.</p>
<p>She had watched her friends obsess over the words on their wrists growing up and rolled her eyes almost every time the topic had come up.  She just simply didn’t understand the point, she was perfectly happy on her own.</p>
<p>(What she wouldn’t discuss was that she had watched all the pain her father had caused her mother when he had left when she was a kid, knowing that they had been soulmates).</p>
<p>She had been even furthered deterred from the concept when she met her cousin and only remaining family that she knew of in her early twenties.</p>
<p>Cassie Nightingale was one of those rare people who had two sets of words written on her wrist.  Surprisingly enough, she wasn’t the first person Abigail had met who had two sets of words; a girl she had met at a student mixer in college had had two sets of words.  Later on, she had actually met her two soulmates and found out that all three of them had two sets of words.</p>
<p>Jake Russell had only had one set of words.</p>
<p>She knew Cassie tended not to think about it, she believed in appreciating what you had and not worrying about what the future may bring.  Jake had tended to be the same; his first wife had lost her soulmate at a very young age and, despite both of them knowing that him meeting his soulmate could complicate things, he had given her the family she had craved.</p>
<p>As it would turn out, the very thing that had taken her soulmate would take her too, a few years before Cassie and Jake even met.</p>
<p>Some people might bristle at their soulmate already having kids from a previous relationship, but not Cassie, it had taken no time whatsoever for her to love Jake’s kids as if they were her own.  And for several years they had lived happily as a family, one that grew with the addition of Cassie and Jake’s daughter, Grace.  For a time, witnessing the love between Cassie and Jake had almost converted Abigail into believing in the merits of soulmates.</p>
<p>Then Jake had been killed in the line of duty.</p>
<p>Love turned to an unrivaled level of heartbreak and once more Abigail found herself questioning the point of soulmates.</p>
<p>As fate would have it, about fifteen years after Abigail had first visited Middleton and met Cassie and Jake, she found herself moving there.  And it was when she arrived there that she found out that Cassie had met her second soulmate.</p>
<p>Sam Radford was not at all what Abigail would have expected for her cousin.  He was a coffee addict who didn’t like tea, and who didn’t believe in the merits of the holistic medicine that Cassie was so practiced at.</p>
<p>Even more so, he seemed to share Abigail’s views on soulmates.  He and his ex-wife had gotten married for the purpose of defying society and proving that you didn’t need to be soulmates to have a successful relationship.  It had worked for a few years and one kid before Linda had met her soulmate and proceeded to cheat on Sam with him.</p>
<p>Between the failed marriage and the trouble Nick had been getting in, Sam had decided a change of scenery was best and for some reason had found himself drawn to Middleton, and not just because the mayor had practically begged him to move there.</p>
<p>No, the reason became obvious when the very first person he met was Cassie.  And while things were complicated between them for a variety of reasons, Cassie still mourning Jake’s loss being no small part of that, both were slowly starting to heal from their pasts just by knowing each other.</p>
<p>Abigail was starting to have very mixed feelings about the concept of soulmates.</p>
<p>She found herself starting to study the words on her wrist more often, wondering what circumstances might make her soulmate’s first words to her such, what they would be like, what their relationship would be like.  Would they get married eventually?  Have kids?  Abigail, who had always been perfectly content on her own, suddenly found herself caught up in all the what-ifs.</p>
<p>She had planned to meet Sam at a local restaurant – The Bistro, an apparent favourite of Middleton’s – to discuss her taking on the receptionist role for his practice but he was apparently running a bit late.  As had seemed to become customary lately without something to distract her, Abigail’s mind wandered once more to those words and to her soulmate.  It was as she pondered this that the restaurant owner walked up to her table and said to her the words that would change her life.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, he’ll show.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Stephanie Borden wasn’t ashamed to admit that she was one of those people who daydreamed about her soulmate often.</p>
<p>She was a romantic at heart and what was more romantic than the concept of someone who she was destined to be with; someone who was supposed to be her perfect match?</p>
<p>Growing up, she and her friends would compare the words on their wrists and talk about what they hoped their soulmates would be like.  If Stephanie was being honest, she often found herself envious of the phrases her friends had on their wrists, so many of them had unique words that could only come up under certain circumstances.  Even those who had pick up lines on their wrists were better off than she was.</p>
<p>Stephanie had only two words on her wrist and they made up a phrase that she had heard countless times in her life.  When she was younger it annoyed her to no end that she couldn’t stop herself from reacting to them each time she heard them even though she knew that the person who spoke them couldn’t possibly be her soulmate.</p>
<p>She had slowly gotten over that as she had gotten older and everyone around her started to meet their own soulmates.  By the time she was done college she had all but completely given up on ever meeting her soulmate, it certainly had felt as though all her friends had except for her.  They had tried to reassure her that her time would come but truthfully Stephanie wasn’t holding her breath.</p>
<p>Everyone was born with the first words their soulmate would say to them on their wrist but the caveat that no one spoke about was that not everyone did meet their soulmates.  Stephanie herself was only aware of it because her mother was one such person.  Betty had instead floated between men, rarely staying with one longer than a year or two, only staying with one long enough to have kids with him, Stephanie and her younger sister.  But not one of these men had been her soulmate, no matter how happy she’d been with them, nor had anyone else she met been.  Eventually the words on her wrist had started to fade.</p>
<p>It was a rare sight to see her mother not wearing long sleeves these days.</p>
<p>Stephanie knew that her mother had worried about her daughters meeting their soulmates growing up.  Having your words fade was taboo, something she hoped wouldn’t end up running in the family.  As it would turn out, Stephanie’s sister would meet her soulmate right out of high school upon joining the marines.  That left Betty with only one daughter to worry about.</p>
<p>Her concern over the topic drove Stephanie insane each time they spoke.</p>
<p>Still, Stephanie couldn’t help but wonder about her soulmate.  Her words hadn’t yet started to fade which meant that she still had a chance of meeting them.  But she knew that obsessing over them wasn’t healthy, so she got into the dating game, flitting from relationship to relationship.  Yet she couldn’t stop herself from comparing anyone she was dating to her hypothetical soulmate.</p>
<p>No wonder she was in her mid thirties and still single.</p>
<p>Maybe her restaurant was destined to be her soulmate.  Stephanie had decided that if she wasn’t going to succeed on the romance front, then she was going to put her all into building the most successful restaurant in Middleton.  And she was proud to say she had succeeded in doing just that.  From the day she had opened the doors, she had had an outpouring of support from the wonderful townspeople, many of whom she had known since she was a kid.</p>
<p>And so, while she still may hope that she would one day find her soulmate, Stephanie had decided that she was satisfied with her life.  Her Bistro really had become her home and she had a network of close friends whom she knew she could count on no matter what.  Sure, her soulmate might make her life just that little bit fuller, but she had nothing to complain about.</p>
<p>The concept of soulmates was nothing more than a near silent whisper in the back of her mind one night as she went about her usual evening rounds in the restaurant, when she noticed a woman sitting alone, checking the time on her phone.  She wasn’t sure in the moment what had caused her to go over and reassure the woman whose date was likely running late, but for some reason she had felt drawn to her.  That reason had almost immediately become apparent when the woman had looked up from her phone and said to her the two words that she hadn’t given a second thought to in years.</p>
<p>“You think?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Abigail hadn’t given it much thought when she responded to the woman, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth the words on her wrist started to <em>burn</em>.  She yanked her sleeve up to find the words on her wrist were now glowing.  She looked up to see the blonde also staring at her wrist, sinking down into the chair across from her.  Finally, she turned her wrist so that Abigail could see her words staring back at her, also glowing.  Abigail turned her own wrist so the other woman could see, causing her to look even more like she was going to faint.</p>
<p>They just stared at each other in a silence that was finally broken by Abigail’s phone.  Shaken out of her reverie, she checked it to find that Sam apparently wasn’t going to make it and if she could be in the office by nine the next morning that would be great.</p>
<p>“Oh right,” said the woman across from her.  “I guess you’re supposed to be meeting someone, huh?”</p>
<p>Abigail shook her head.  “Not anymore apparently.  I suspect I have my cousin to blame for this one.”  She smiled to herself, another time she might have teased Cassie but right now she was just happy to see her cousin finally healing.</p>
<p>“Cousin?”  Abigail could see realization starting to form in her eyes.</p>
<p>“Yeah, Cassie Nightingale.”  Abigail watched as realization and surprise mixed on the blonde’s face.</p>
<p>“You must be Abigail,” she finally said.</p>
<p>“I am,” Abigail grinned.  “And I don’t believe I’ve caught your name.”</p>
<p>“Stephanie.”  The pair fell into silence for a moment.  When Stephanie had imagined meeting her soulmate it had never been this awkward.  “So uh, I guess we should talk about this,” she indicated her wrist as she spoke.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I guess we should.”  Abigail tucked a lock of hair behind her ear absentmindedly.  She had never thought about what she would do if she met her soulmate and now that she had she found herself annoyingly at a loss for what to do.</p>
<p>Stephanie was pondering her next words when a resounding crash came from the kitchen.  “Dammit,” she muttered, knowing she needed to go and inspect the damage.  “How about we pick this up tomorrow night, say six?  I can get my staff to close for me and I’ll cook a nice meal just for the two of us.”  Part of Stephanie’s brain was screaming at her for suggesting this, but food really was her love language and she wanted to make a better impression than the awkward one she had made tonight.</p>
<p>Abigail nodded, that should give her enough time to get back to Grey House to shower and change after work.  “Sounds good.”</p>
<p>“Perfect.”  An indecipherable yell came from the kitchen.  “Sorry to run but I really have to go.”</p>
<p>Abigail giggled at Stephanie’s fluster.  “Go, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she promised.  With a grateful smile, Stephanie disappeared into the kitchen.</p>
<p>Suddenly what had just happened hit Abigail.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You knew, didn’t you?”  Abigail accused Cassie as she entered Grey House and found her, sure enough, with Sam.</p>
<p>“Knew what?”  Cassie asked playfully.</p>
<p>“Don’t play dumb with me, this is precisely why Sam is here and not meeting with me like he was supposed to be.”  Abigail knew she was being short with her cousin, but the events of the evening had her on the defensive.  She hadn’t even thought to tease Cassie about keeping Sam for herself.</p>
<p>“Uh, is this where I mention that I have no idea what’s going on and therefore was not part of whatever scheme may or may not have been pulled?”  Sam quipped as he looked between the women.</p>
<p>“Depends, what did my cousin tell you to keep you here?”  Abigail spoke to Sam but looked at Cassie.</p>
<p>“Abigail,” Cassie gave her a reproachful look.  Abigail sighed but said nothing.  “How about you explain what’s going on.”</p>
<p>Abigail flopped into a chair across from Cassie and Sam dramatically.  “I met my soulmate.”</p>
<p>A wide smile lit up Cassie’s face as Sam said, “Abigail, that’s wonderful!”</p>
<p>“Is it?”  Abigail challenged, slouching down in the chair and covering her face with a groan.  “It was so awkward.”</p>
<p>“Before we get any further, who is your soulmate?”  Sam inquired.</p>
<p>Abigail sighed, uncovering her face.  “Stephanie.”  There was no way they didn’t know who she was talking about.</p>
<p>“Stephanie?  As in Stephanie Borden, the Bistro owner?”  Abigail nodded.  “Wow, I’m beginning to think Abigail was right about you knowing,” Sam turned to Cassie as he spoke.</p>
<p>“I had a feeling something was going to happen, I just wasn’t sure what,” Cassie admitted.  “So, what happened?”</p>
<p>Abigail relayed her and Stephanie’s brief conversation.  “I’ll admit I’ve never really given much thought to what meeting my soulmate would be like, but I never would have imagined it as that awkward.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, mine and Sam’s meeting wasn’t much better,” Cassie chuckled, Sam nudging her playfully.  “But we’re making it work.  Just take it one day at a time, starting with tomorrow’s dinner.”</p>
<p>“Oh god, the dinner,” Abigail remembered with a groan.  Why had she agreed to that again?</p>
<p>“If it helps, Stephanie’s the best cook in town – other than Cassie, of course – and she’s a damn good baker too,” Sam tossed out.</p>
<p>“She owns the most popular restaurant in town, I kind of already figured that one out,” Abigail deadpanned.</p>
<p>“Right,” Sam muttered, defeated.</p>
<p>Cassie shook her head fondly.  “Just relax, Stephanie’s one of the best people I know, and I think you two are going to make a wonderful match.  There’s always some awkwardness when first meeting a soulmate but give it a bit of time and it’ll be like you’ve known each other forever.”</p>
<p>If anyone knew what it was like it was Cassie, Abigail reasoned with herself.  Everything would be fine; she could do this.  “Thanks, Cassie,” she said.</p>
<p>She could always go back to New York if things really went poorly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It happened, Mom,” Stephanie said into her phone.  The first thing she had done upon getting home from the Bistro was call her mother to tell her the news.</p>
<p>She heard her mom gasp on the other end of the line.  “<em>You mean?</em>”</p>
<p>“I met my soulmate,” Stephanie squealed, finally feeling the rush of joy she always imagined she would feel.</p>
<p>“<em>Oh honey!  Oh, I’m so happy for you!</em>”  Stephanie could hear the tears in her mom’s voice.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Mom.”  Stephanie could feel herself getting a bit choked up from the happiness as well.</p>
<p>“<em>Well, come on.  What’s their name?  What are they like?  Give me details!</em>”</p>
<p>“Her name is Abigail, and honestly we didn’t get to talk much before the kitchen decided to have a meltdown, but I can tell you she’s Cassie’s cousin,” Stephanie offered.</p>
<p>“<em>A Merriwick?</em>”  This seemed to surprise Betty but before Stephanie could say anything she continued.  “<em>You know, I always wondered why you chose to stay in Middleton, but I guess we know what drove you to now</em>.”</p>
<p>Stephanie rolled her eyes.  While her mother had chosen Middleton to raise her daughters, she was not a small-town woman by any means.  “Middleton has plenty of advantages, Mom.  But I will admit that this is definitely right up there.”</p>
<p>“<em>Whatever you say, honey</em>.”  Stephanie rolled her eyes again.  “<em>So, when’s the first date?</em>”</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t call it a date,” Stephanie said slowly, “but I am cooking her dinner tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“<em>Cooking for her on the first date?  Someone’s hoping to get laid</em>.”</p>
<p>“Mom!”  Stephanie felt her face heat up.  “One, it isn’t a date; two, if it was what’s so wrong about cooking for the woman who’s my soulmate?  You know cooking is how I show people I care.”</p>
<p>“<em>Well if it isn’t a date, what is it?</em>”</p>
<p>Stephanie sighed, what was it exactly?  “It’s just,” she paused looking for the right words, “a way for us to talk and start to get to know each other without interruptions or prying eyes.  Today’s meeting ended up being really awkward and I’m hoping to avoid that happening again.”</p>
<p>“<em>Well, I’m not sure this helps but I honestly couldn’t imagine meeting a soulmate to not be awkward.  I mean think about it, what starts out as a simple greeting between two strangers turns into ‘oh my god, we’re meant to spend the rest of our lives together’, how could that not be awkward?</em>”  Stephanie could practically hear Betty rolling her eyes.</p>
<p>“I suppose you’re right,” Stephanie giggled before glancing at the clock with a sigh, seeing how late it already was.  “I better get going, I need to menu plan for tomorrow.  I just wanted to call and give you the good news.”</p>
<p>“<em>I’m glad you did.  I really am happy for you, sweetheart</em>.”  Betty’s relief went unspoken.  “<em>Good luck tomorrow, I can’t wait to meet her</em>.”</p>
<p>“If things go well, hopefully the next time you’re in town,” Stephanie promised.  “Love you, Mom.”</p>
<p>“<em>Love you too</em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Abigail Pershing was <em>not</em> nervous.</p>
<p>She didn’t get nervous, nervous wasn’t in her vocabulary.  So when Sam let her leave the office early she absolutely <em>did not</em> spend half the afternoon agonizing over what to wear, what to do with her hair, if she should bring Stephanie some sort of gift and if so, what it should be.</p>
<p>No, she wasn’t nervous at all.</p>
<p>Finally, she settled on a form fitting dark red top and black pencil skirt, sweeping her hair over one shoulder.  Satisfied, she slipped on a pair of black heels, grabbed her gift for Stephanie and headed out.</p>
<p>Unbeknownst to her, Stephanie had spent the afternoon in a similar panic, second guessing her menu choices for the evening, also agonizing over her clothing and hair, she needed something that looked good but also was easy to cook in.  She ended up deciding on a simple blue dress, putting her hair up in an elegant bun knowing she needed it out of the way while cooking but also not wanting to put it in a ponytail.  She finished getting ready just in time for the doorbell to ring.</p>
<p>Abigail rang the doorbell and tried to will her heart to stop racing.  It was just a simple dinner between two people, there was nothing riding on this.  Sure, Stephanie was very attractive, but that had never affected her like this in the past.</p>
<p>Okay, maybe this soulmate thing was affecting her more than she was admitting to.</p>
<p>After what felt like forever, the door finally opened, and Abigail felt her breath hitch as she saw Stephanie.  “Stephanie, wow, you look, wow.”  She facepalmed mentally, apparently meeting her soulmate was turning her into a fool.</p>
<p>Stephanie blushed, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear.  “I could say the same about you,” she said, shyly.  “Please, come in.”</p>
<p>Abigail stepped inside, waiting for Stephanie to close the door before holding out the bouquet she had brought with her.  “These are for you.”</p>
<p>“They’re beautiful,” Stephanie accepted the bouquet, admiring it before looking back at Abigail.  “There is no way you got these from the florist in town, nothing in that store is this nice.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t,” Abigail admitted.  “Cassie let me pick some flowers from Grey House’s garden.”</p>
<p>Stephanie did a doubletake, looking at the flowers and then back to Abigail again.  “Wait, <em>you</em> put together this bouquet?”  Abigail nodded hesitantly.  “Damn, I should hire you to do the Bistro’s flowers.  Between you and me, the florist is only days away from going out of business.”</p>
<p>“Really?”  Abigail filed that piece of information away for later.  “Well, I’m glad you like them.”  She hit herself mentally once more, she really needed to get it together or she would ruin her reputation in Middleton before she even had a chance to really build it.</p>
<p>“I do.”  Stephanie brought the bouquet up to her face, inhaling appreciatively.  “Now come on, I hope you’re hungry.”</p>
<p>“Ravenous,” Abigail grinned flirtatiously at her, feeling pleased with herself as she noticed Stephanie gulp, her eyes darkening momentarily as Abigail managed to catch her off guard.  This was better, now she just had to keep up this momentum the rest of the evening.</p>
<p>She followed Stephanie further into the house, listening to her babble about the menu she’d put together for the night.  “I ended up going with a bit of an Italian theme, I thought bruschetta would be fun for appetizer, made a balsamic reduction for it too, lemon roasted salmon, went for seasonal vegetables as the side since the farmer’s market was this morning – has Cassie told you about it yet?  It’s seriously good.  Right, off topic, made a simple tiramisu for dessert.  Wait, you don’t have any allergies, do you?  I probably should have asked that yesterday.”  She spoke rapidly, seemingly without taking a breath.</p>
<p>Abigail couldn’t help but giggle as she realized she wasn’t the only nervous one.  “Only cranberries, and it doesn’t sound like you’ve used those so we should be fine.”</p>
<p>Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief.  “Perfect, okay.  Why don’t you settle down and pour us a glass of wine,” she indicated the bottle and glasses on the table.  “I’m going to go put these in a vase and grab our first course.”</p>
<p>“Sounds good,” Abigail agreed.</p>
<p>Satisfied, Stephanie disappeared into the next room to find a vase, taking the chance to collect herself.  She knew she had a tendency to ramble when she was nervous, but she had to reign it in.  Grabbing a vase from the closet, she filled it with water and put the flowers in it, making a mental note to thank Cassie for letting Abigail pick them later.</p>
<p>Flowers safely in their vase, Stephanie headed into the kitchen where she had the first course already ready to go and picked it up, making her way back to the table, where she found that not only had Abigail poured two glasses of wine, she had also lit the candles on the table.  “I’m sure you’ve known Cassie long enough to know that candles are important to us Merriwicks,” Abigail quipped.  “Actually, how long have you known Cassie?”</p>
<p>“I was already living away for college when she moved to Middleton, but my sister was still in town, so I’ve known of her longer than I’ve actually known her,” Stephanie explained.  “Emma never actually met her herself, but she kept up with the town grapevine until she joined the marines.  I moved back once I finished college to open the Bistro and it was just a few days after I opened that Cassie came in for the first time and well, the rest is history.”</p>
<p>“She definitely speaks highly of you, and Grace absolutely adores you,” Abigail said, taking a sip of her wine.</p>
<p>Stephanie chuckled.  “Grace was still a toddler when I met her.  I ended up helping Cassie out when her sitter cancelled on her last second once and became a regular sitter for her after that, it really is hard not to love that girl.”  Stephanie felt herself smile fondly as she thought of the youngest Merriwick.  “What about you?  I know Cassie had a bit of a rough past, how did you two end up connecting?”</p>
<p>“Lori found out about me while making a family tree for her and Jake after they got married actually.  So, Cassie called me and invited me to visit,” Abigail shrugged, hoping Stephanie wouldn’t pry too much.</p>
<p>Stephanie raised an eyebrow.  “Why do I get the feeling there’s more to it than that?”</p>
<p>“It’s probably a story best told by Cassie,” Abigail settled on, taking a bite of the appetizer to deter from the topic.  “Oh wow, this is amazing,” she commented, already going for her second bite.</p>
<p>Stephanie blushed.  “I may have a few tricks up my sleeve.”</p>
<p>“Cooking’s not really my strong suit,” Abigail said somewhat wistfully.  “I can make a few things, but not much and definitely not anything like this.”</p>
<p>“Maybe I could teach you a few more things,” Stephanie suggested, suddenly feeling shy again.</p>
<p>She relaxed as Abigail smiled widely.  “I’d like that.”</p>
<p>Slowly but surely, conversation began to flow easier as the two women relaxed, laughing as they enjoyed their meal.  As the evening wore on, the pair moved from the dining room to the living room, relaxing on the couch with their wine.</p>
<p>“You know it’s funny,” Stephanie said after she had stopped laughing at something Abigail had said.  “I had more or less given up on meeting my soulmate, on meeting you.”</p>
<p>“You were one of those girls who obsessed over your soulmate as a teen, weren’t you?”  Abigail gave her a wry look.</p>
<p>“Guilty,” Stephanie giggled.  “As I got older and everyone but me started to meet theirs, it seemed less and less likely I would meet mine, but honestly?  I was okay with it, I had the Bistro, my friends, my mom and sister; maybe I wouldn’t find my soulmate but that wouldn’t have meant my life wasn’t good.”  She softened.  “Still, I think I’m glad to have met you.”</p>
<p>“Wait until you get to know me,” Abigail quipped, taking a sip of wine to hide her blush.</p>
<p>“I don’t know, Cassie speaks highly of you and I trust her judgement,” Stephanie pointed out.</p>
<p>This caught Abigail off guard.  “She does?”</p>
<p>Stephanie gave her a strange look.  “Of course, why wouldn’t she?”</p>
<p>Abigail sighed.  “I didn’t give her the best first impression,” she explained.  “And while I know Cassie’s one of the most forgiving people there is, Lori certainly hasn’t forgiven me, probably can’t blame her,” she shrugged.</p>
<p>“What happened?”  Stephanie raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>“That’s still a story best told by Cassie,” Abigail told her, not wanting to get into it considering how well the night had been going.  They slipped into silence for a bit, both unsure what to do next.  “You know, I was the opposite,” Abigail said to break the silence.  Stephanie gave her a curious look.  “I thought the concept of soulmates was completely pointless when I was younger.  I almost was converted by Cassie and Jake but watching her lose him turned me off of the concept even more.  It was only recently that I started actually giving thought to what so many start thinking about in their teen years.”</p>
<p>“And what were those thoughts?”  Stephanie asked, voice hardly above a whisper.</p>
<p>“That maybe I was open to the idea.”  Abigail gave Stephanie a soft smile.</p>
<p>“So, glad you were?”  Hope shined in Stephanie’s eyes as she spoke.</p>
<p>“Still too early to come up with a verdict,” Abigail quipped, causing Stephanie to give her a look, “but so far so good.”  She caught Stephanie’s eye and the two dissolved into giggles, broken only by the clock chiming.  “Is that the time?”  Abigail’s eyes widened when she saw it, she had never lost track of time with anyone like this before.  “I hope you don’t have to get up too early tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“I kind of do.”  Stephanie grimaced, she had also lost track of time and had a very early morning.</p>
<p>“I better get going then,” Abigail said, standing.  She was stunned to realize that she had said that somewhat reluctantly, she never felt this way.</p>
<p>“I’ll see you out.”  Stephanie seemed almost disappointed.  She accompanied Abigail to the door, watching as she put on her coat.  “So, maybe we could do this again some time,” she hesitantly broke the silence.  “I know the whole concept is a lot, but I really would like to get to know you more.”</p>
<p>Abigail paused.  Her normal instinct was to run whenever feelings got involved and while there was part of her that was saying just that, another part of her was telling her to fight that feeling, that there could be something real here.</p>
<p>“No strings,” Stephanie’s voice interrupted her thoughts as if she could sense what was troubling Abigail.  “We can just take things one day at a time and see what happens.”</p>
<p>“One day at a time,” Abigail echoed, remembering Cassie’s words from the night before.<em>  Screw running</em>, she suddenly thought.  “I’d like that.”</p>
<p>Stephanie’s bright smile, she thought, was worth stepping out of her comfort zone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Five years later</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Stephanie awoke with a groan as she took in the time, it was way to early to be awake on her morning off.  She rolled over, nuzzling into the figure next to her in hopes of getting a bit more sleep.</p>
<p>That figure shifted.  “Why is it that even without an alarm you’re always awake at an ungodly hour?”</p>
<p>Stephanie giggled as she took in the glazed over sleepy look in Abigail’s eyes.  “Force of habit, I guess.  It’s okay, go back to sleep.”</p>
<p>“Nah, I’m awake now.”  Abigail pulled Stephanie closer, Stephanie gladly relaxing into her.  “Happy anniversary,” she murmured in Stephanie’s ear, pressing a kiss to her temple.</p>
<p>“Happy anniversary,” Stephanie said back, feeling herself grin like an idiot.  It was hard to believe that five years had passed since the day they had met.</p>
<p>“You know, I really thought about running that day,” Abigail confessed, sleepiness loosening her tongue.  “Fleeing back to New York and never coming back.  I’m glad I didn’t.”  Stephanie shifted so she could look at Abigail who gave her a soft smile.</p>
<p>“So am I,” Stephanie smiled back, feeling herself getting a bit choked up.  “I love you.”</p>
<p>“I love you too,” Abigail responded, moving to kiss Stephanie softly.</p>
<p>She was right where she was meant to be.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, hope you all enjoyed, would love to hear what you think.</p>
<p>Not sure what/when my next fic will be as life is absolute hell but I can say is that it'll exist at some point lmao</p>
<p>Until next time!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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